Just got back from the morning interview session. Coaches and players filled a conference room, each one sitting at a round table. Bielema and left guard Andy Kemp had no additional comment on the Lance Smith situation, but there was plenty of other interesting things going on. A few thoughts and notes...
— Purdue is doing all it can to promote quarterback Curtis Painter as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate. A
website was created to chronicle his achievements, and at the center of Painter's table were specially-made Painter calendars (A perfect gift for that hard-to-buy for someone who can't get enough of Curtis Painter from the months of August to January!) and promotional DVDs.
— Best dressed honors go to either Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, who had a white shirt trimmed with black and a black and white tie to go with a watch about the size of small pancake, or Indiana running back Marcus Thigpen, who looked like a walking creamsickle in an orange suit with a long jacket.
— Travis Beckum relayed an interesting story about his conversion from linebacker to tight end as a sophomore. Beckum, who played a limited amount of tight end at Oak Creek High School, said a UW coach asked former Oak Creek head football coach Joe Cook whether he thought Beckum would make a good tight end. According to Beckum, Cook said he didn't think that would be a great spot for the five-star recruit. Now, Beckum is a likely All-American and could easily be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft following this year.
— It was clear from talking to Minnesota players that the Badgers-Gophers rivalry is a big deal for them. "You can tell there's some tension," Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber said. "But I think that's what creates a rivalry is that there's some bickering, there's some things said, some things done, that's what carries it out to the next year. That's what it's all about." Said Gopher wide receiver Eric Decker: "I think [the rivalry]'s almost bigger than the game itself."
— Joe Paterno, still kicking entering his 43rd season as the head coach at Penn State, held court with a large contingent of media for the entire two-hour session. Other headliners to draw large crowds were new Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez, Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel and preseason conference defensive player of the year Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis.
— OSU quarterback Todd Boeckman, on the big Southern Cal-Ohio State game Sept. 13: "It's a lot of fun. Especially going out to the Coliseum in L.A., a night game out there. That's going to be special. ... If you want to be the best, you might as well beat the best."